'To 'seafood' or not to 'seafood'?' An isotopic perspective on dietary preferences at the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in the Western Mediterranean

Stable isotope investigations of the Prehistory of the Western Mediterranean have increased exponentially during the last decade. This region has a high number of Mesolithic and Neolithic carbon and nitrogen isotope ratio data available compared with other world areas, resulting from the interest in the 'transition' between hunter-gathering and farming. This type of analysis is important as one of the few tools that give direct information on the poorly understood dietary transition from hunter-gatherer to agro-pastoralist subsistence in the Mediterranean Basin. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis on bulk collagen are especially useful for exploring marine vs. terrestrial protein input and therefore assess marine resource exploitation by these two different lifestyles. Gathering together all isotopic data for these chronologies we show that theWestern Mediterranean underwent a unique/distinct Neolithisation process. These data show a gradual dietary shift in aquatic resource consumption during the transition to farming that contrasts to elsewhere in Europe

Morfologia i formació del complexe sinaptinèmic a espermatòcits i oòcits de Mus musculus

A method for the sequential study of synaptonemal complexes by light and electron microscopy has been used to characterize the synaptic process in mouse (Mus musculus) spermatocytes and oocytes. Pre- and post-synaptic figures can be easily identified

Morfologia i formació del complexe sinaptinèmic a espermatòcits i oòcits de Mus musculus

A method for the sequential study of synaptonemal complexes by light and electron microscopy has been used to characterize the synaptic process in mouse (Mus musculus) spermatocytes and oocytes. Pre- and post-synaptic figures can be easily identified

Exploitation shifted trophic ecology and habitat preferences of Mediterranean and Black Sea bluefin tuna over centuries

During recent decades, the health of ocean ecosystems and fish populations has been threatened by overexploitation, pollution and anthropogenic-driven climate change. Due to a lack of long-term ecological data, we have a poor grasp of the true impact on the diet and habitat use of fishes. This information is vital if we are to recover depleted fish populations and predict their future dynamics. Here, we trace the long-term diet and habitat use of Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT), Thunnus thynnus, a species that has had one of the longest and most intense exploitation histories, owing to its tremendous cultural and economic importance. Using carbon, nitrogen and sulphur stable isotope analyses of modern and ancient BFT including 98 archaeological and archival bones from 11 Mediterranean locations ca. 1st century to 1941 CE, we infer a shift to increased pelagic foraging around the 16th century in Mediterranean BFT. This likely reflects the early anthropogenic exploitation of inshore coastal ecosystems, as attested by historical literature sources. Further, we reveal that BFT which migrated to the Black Sea–and that disappeared during a period of intense exploitation and ecosystem changes in the 1980s–represented a unique component, isotopically distinct from BFT of NE Atlantic and Mediterranean locations. These data suggest that anthropogenic activities had the ability to alter the diet and habitat use of fishes in conditions prior to those of recent decades. Consequently, long-term data provide novel perspectives on when marine ecosystem modification began and the responses of marine populations, with which to guide conservation policy

Estudi dels modes de subsistència de les comunitats neolítiques del nord-est de la Península Ibèrica: Reconstrucció paleodietètica a partir dels els isòtops estables

La present Tesi Doctoral es troba focalitzada en les anàlisis isotòpiques del carboni i del nitrogen. L’objectiu principal és l’estudi dels patrons dietètics i, per extensió, dels patrons socioeconòmics de les comunitats del neolític mig del nord-est de la Península Ibèrica. Per a contextualitzar els resultats obtinguts, en primer lloc, s’han valorat diacrònicament les transformacions ocorregudes en els patrons de subsistència de les comunitats peninsulars des del mesolític fins al calcolític i, finalment, s’han comparat els resultats obtinguts amb altres sèries neolítiques peninsulars i de la resta d’Europa. Les noves dades isotòpiques mostren que els individus presentaven una dieta basada en recursos terrestres de cicle C3, on el principal component proteic procedia dels cereals i dels llegums cultivats i, en segona instància, dels derivats làctics procedents del bestiar domèstic. Aquests resultats també han posat de manifest un seguit de diferències alimentàries, tant intra com interpoblacionals, que han portat a evidenciar: l’existència d’una estructuració de les societats definida en funció del sexe, l’edat o la posició social; així com la importància del factor social en l’elecció de les activitats de subsistència seguides per cada comunitat. Les transformacions esdevingudes en els patrons de subsistència des del mesolític mostren la clara tendència cap a un menor consum de recursos marins i d’aigua dolça per part de les comunitats neolítiques, així com una important homogeneïtzació dietètica caracteritzada per l’adopció de l’agricultura i la ramaderia com a font de subsistència. Aquestes evidències es troben en consonància amb d’altres estudis de comunitats neolítiques europees. Finalment, a partir de l’estudi diacrònic, també s’ha pogut apreciar l’especialització de les activitats agrícoles i ramaderes, que comportà un important increment demogràfic, una major estructuració social i el creixement dels assentaments a partir del calcolític. La present Tesi Doctoral aporta, doncs, dades rellevants per a un millor coneixement de les comunitats neolítiques peninsulars i europees, tot oferint una visió global sobre el mode de vida de les comunitats prehistòriques.The present PhD Thesis is focused on carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis. The main objective is to study the diet and socio-economic patterns of the Middle Neolithic communities in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula. A geographic and chronological comparisons were made in order to assess the diachronic transformations in diet occurred from the Mesolithic to the Chalcolithic, and to define the differences and similarities with other Iberian and European series. The new isotopic data show that a diet based on C3 terrestrial resources is common to all the communities. The main protein component in the diet came from cultivated cereals and legumes and, to a lesser extent, from resources obtained from livestock, such as dairy products and occasionally meat. The results also highlighted a number of intra and inter-population differences in diet. These differences show the existence of social differentiations as regards the consumption of certain kinds of food, as well as the importance of the social factor in choosing the subsistence activities used by each community. A general tendency towards a lesser use of aquatic resources is seen from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic in Iberia and the rest of the Mediterranean, as well as a dietary homogenization characterized by the adoption of agriculture and livestock practices. These evidences were also documented for contemporary communities in the west and north of Europe. Finally, the diachronic study also assess the increasing expertise in farming activities, which led to a significant population growth, an increased social structure and the growth of the settlements from the Chalcolithic. The data presented in this PhD Thesis are relevant for a better understanding of European Neolithic communities, offering an overview of the way of life of the prehistoric communities

Morfologia i formació del complexe sinaptinèmic a espermatòcits i oòcits de Mus musculus

A method for the sequential study of synaptonemal complexes by light and electron microscopy has been used to characterize the synaptic process in mouse (Mus musculus) spermatocytes and oocytes. Pre- and post-synaptic figures can be easily identified

Human and animal subsistence in northern Iberia during the Late Chalcolithic-Bronze Age : biomolecular insights from Muela de Borja, Ebro Valley

This study explores human diet and animal management strategies in multiple Late Chalcolithic and Bronze Age (2550–1200 cal BCE) sites (Moncín, Majaladares, El Estrechuelo and El Balcón) located in Muela de Borja in the Ebro Valley, Northern Iberia, through the application of stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope analysis and zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry (ZooMS). Thirty-three animal and nine human bones were analysed across the four sites. ZooMS enabled us to identify a number of fragmented animal bones whose species representation reflected that of the wider zooarchaeological assemblage. The isotopic results complemented by a Bayesian stable isotope mixing model (BSIMM) indicate that all humans had a relatively uniform diet consisting of C3 terrestrial plant and animal resources, despite representing a range of burial sites and a broad chronology. In contrast, animals had a highly variable diet, which suggests the existence of diverse feeding and management strategies within and between species. When comparing data from these sites to other published sites of a similar chronology, we see regional patterns in δ13C and δ15N that reflect environmental differentiation. These results provide a deeper understanding of the diversity of human and animal dietary practices during the Late Chalcolithic and Bronze Age in the Ebro Valley and Northern Iberia